UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Britain is pushing the U.N. Security Council to discuss concerns about Myanmar's upcoming election but is facing resistance from the southeast Asian nation's powerful neighbour China, U.N. diplomats said on Wednesday.
Myanmar has been on the agenda of the 15-nation council for years due to what Western powers say is the military junta's brutal suppression of human rights and crackdowns on ethnic minorities and dissidents. But China and Russia have prevented the council from imposing sanctions on the junta leaders.
The reason Britain is urging the 15-nation council to return the situation in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is the government's recently published regulations banning political prisoners from participating in elections, or even being members of political parties, the diplomats said.
"A number of council members support the idea of discussing Burma and getting an update on the situation there," a Western diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
"It's the subject of negotiations with the Chinese at the moment, who are always reluctant on these matters," he said.
The United States and France, both of which are permanent veto-wielding council members like Britain, China and Russia, are among those that support the idea of a council meeting on Myanmar to discuss the upcoming election, diplomats said.
One envoy said they would like the council to agree on some kind of statement urging Myanmar's junta to free political prisoners and allow them to take part in the poll, which has not been scheduled but is expected to take place this year.
The council has only agreed to two formal statements on Myanmar. The last, in August 2009, voiced "serious concern" about opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's conviction for letting an American intruder who swam to her house stay for two days.
TROUBLE WITH CHINA
The new regulations, which the United States and United Nations have said would strip any remaining credibility from the elections, would prevent the detained Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, from running for office.
Her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won the last election in 1990 but the junta ignored the result and officially annulled it last Thursday.
The NLD is considering whether to take part in the poll, which has been widely dismissed outside Myanmar as a sham intended to make the country appear more democratic while leaving the military in control.
Diplomats said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's so-called "Group of Friends" on Myanmar will meet on March 25 to discuss the situation there. That group includes the United States, Britain, France, China, Japan, Australia, Norway, Russia, Singapore and Thailand.
It was not clear when the Security Council would meet to discuss Myanmar, though Western diplomats said they hoped it would be as soon as possible.
Historically the council has been unable to do much about Myanmar due to resistance from China. U.S. and European officials have suggested that the United Nations should impose sanctions on the country.
But Beijing has been unwilling to allow the council to take punitive action against Myanmar, whose nearly 2,000 km (1,250 mile) coastline provides neighbouring China with easy land and sea access to lucrative South Asian markets. Russia has also opposed sanctions due to what it says are internal matters.
The United States, France and Britain have had disagreements with China on other issues, such as Iran's nuclear program, North Korea and an unsuccessful Anglo-American attempt in 2008 to impose sanctions on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and high-ranking members of his government.
Source :http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE62G4IW20100317?sp=true
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